- if Paraguay does not do so, USTR will evaluate possible implications accordingly, including with respect to Paraguay's status under Special 301.
- Although Spain is not listed in the 2015 Report, USTR continues the OCR of Spain, announced in 2013, which is focused, in particular, on concrete steps taken by Spain to combat copyright piracy over the Internet. While Spain has taken several positive steps, concerns remain, and additional steps are necessary.
USTR may conduct additional OCRs of other trading partners as circumstances warrant, or as requested by the trading partner.
Out-of-Cycle Review of Notorious Markets
In 2010, USTR began publishing the Notorious Markets List as an OCR separately from the annual Special 301 Report. The Notorious Markets List identifies selected online and physical markets that are reportedly engaged in copyright piracy and trademark counterfeiting, according to information submitted to USTR in response to a notice published in the Federal Register requesting public comments. USTR requested such comments on September 26, 2014, and published the 2014 Notorious Markets List on March 5, 2015. USTR plans to conduct its next Notorious Markets OCR in the fall of 2015. The Notorious Markets List is available at www.ustr.gov.
Structure of the Special 301 Report
The 2015 Report contains the following Sections and Annexes:
Section I. Developments in Intellectual Property Rights Protection and Enforcement discusses global trends and issues in IPR protection and enforcement that the U.S. Government works to address on a daily basis;
Section II. Country Reports includes descriptions of issues of concern with respect to particular trading partners;
Annex 1 describes the statutory basis of the Special 301 Report; and
Annex 2 highlights U.S. Government-sponsored technical assistance and capacity building efforts.
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